DVD Review: Fists in the Pocket

Directed by Marco Bellochio
1965
Italy

Fists in the Pocket focuses on Alessandro, a death-obsessed epileptic living with his misfit family in a secluded Italian villa. He passes the time reading fake newspaper headlines to his blind mother, neglecting his retarded brother Leone, and making incestuous advances towards his sister Giulia while normal elder brother Augusto acts as reluctant caretaker to the entire family. Augusto has aspirations to one day marry his pretty girlfriend and move to town but as long as he is responsible for his dependent family this is impossible. Alessandro (who bears a disturbing resemblance to Marlon Brando crossed with Doogie Howser) plots to hasten his brother’s middle class escape by offing their helpless family members one by one.

In an early scene, Augusto chides his younger brother for having no ambition or drive, and the murders reflect his criticism. There is no spite or perverse satisfaction in Alessandro’s murders, no terror or suspense in his scheme; he very literally takes his victims by the hand and leads them to their deaths, dispatching of them with as little effort as possible. By the time he actually kills his first victim his intentions are so obvious that there is little to be surprised by. The murders become incidental to our understanding of Alessandro and a scene where he attends a dance with Augusto is far more revealing of his character than watching him lead his blind mother off a cliff.

Reviews for Fists in the Pocket invariably describe it as a “rethinking of the horror genre’ and in the broadest sense this is an apt description; the classic elements of a horror film are all there – murder in an isolated setting, helpless victims, and a killer whose twisted physical aberrations match his internal deformities. However, the film emerges not so much as a horror film but as a film about horrific things. First time director Marco Bellochio had worked with Pasolini early in his career, and visually and thematically Fists in the Pocket has more in common with traditional ‘60s European art house cinema than its Italian horror contemporaries.

If this film is indeed a “rethinking of the horror genre,” then Bellochio has rethought it right out of the genre and almost into the realm of social drama. Unfortunately for Bellochio, there are far better films to choose from in either genre and while this hybrid is certainly stylistically interesting, it falls short of its contemporaries. Horror fans seeking an elegant and stylish B&W horror film would be better served seeking out Franju’s Eyes Without a Face (1960) and if artful examinations of dispassion and social morality are your cup of tea, then there are any number of bold and audacious films that merit a viewing sooner than this one.